Palais de Steff

"Palais de Steff" has arrived and is a work in progress.
So come on in...grab a cocktail... or the nearest available houseboy and make yourself at home...feel free to wander about or just plonk yourself down and stay a while...
Princess says "Hello and Welcome"!...

Thursday, October 5, 2017

Especially when one is up to ones pits in bark and sawdust...I'd have been tip toing through the tulips but sadly I didn't get around to planting any... never mind... perhaps an adventure to some of the local parks might just be the ticket to view the councils effort with tulips this year...

now where was I?... Oh that's right... up to my pits in bark and saw dust

I've been busy in the garden trying to get it back to resembling some form of its former glory...

No mean feat I might add considering the amounts of bark and sawdust laying about after having the huge gumtree removed from the back corner of the yard.... not to mention the piles and piles of wood stacked haphazardly about the nooks and crannies making it difficult to actually get into some of the areas needing to be worked.so it has been a somewhat adventurous task particularly when the trusty old trailer that I take all the clippings and detritus to the tip with... decided to go on strike! Yes!... That's right!.... After 25 years of neglect it decided that not only would one of it's tires develop an irreparable split in it's side wall but the other, decided to go out in sympathy with it by developing a slow leak... how rude I thought.... After all I haven't done for you over the years and this is how you repay me!2 new tyres later and I could finally get back to work... or so I THOUGHT...I filled the trailer with rubbish and tied it all down ready for a run to the tip the next morning.... well that was the plan. on making a final check before going out the driveway I discovered that one of the brand new tires was totally flat! not only that but the tyre had pulled away from the rim making it impossible to tow.I contacted the tyre mob who eventually realized my predicament after several phonecalls of to-ing and fro-ing... you know like initially saying to "bring the trailer in and they would take a look at it mate"... Then " well... bring the wheel in and we'll fix it" and finally " oh... so the trailers full... and you don't have the right tools to remove the wheel to bring it in to us" eventually they sent out the manager who within the space of 20 minutes removed the offending wheel took it back to the store to be fixed and returned and put it back on the trailer... All for no fee!Any way back to the garden...

The rose path is about to come into bloom

Princess has wood!

and even Bigger wood...

and a lovely crop of "Sticky Willy"

the self sown "Jonny Jump ups" continue to survive in two old wheelbarrows...

the peony roses are just about done...

but the Wisteria has again been stunning...

I'm feeling good again and my energy levels keep getting better as well...

The Empress gets out and potters about in the garden with me but it is spasmodic as her blood pressure still causes problems and she ends up spending the day in bed or on her favourite recliner chair when it drops to low and she starts getting the giddies on me... It doesn't stop her from coming up with multiple suggestions for plantings in the garden, maintenance that needs to be done around the yard or new things that need to be built or fixed... the trouble is... there is only one of me and her list of ideas keeps getting longer... when she is up to working she tends to push herself all day despite my pleas for her to take a break. subsequently she is exhausted for the next day or so....

not to worry... as life goes on...

Anyway darlings I'm looking forward to catching up with all your gardening efforts over at MJ's annual event...